Here’s an intriguing passage from an article I’ve posted on the bulletin board about theologian Stanley Hauerwas. “No task is more important than for the Church to take the Bible out of the hands of individual Christians in North America.” Perhaps the only surer way to enrage an American Christian than threatening to take the […]

Note from CM: Michael’s most well known articles were called “The Coming Evangelical Collapse.” I thought it would be good to re-post a few excerpts from these three pieces in light of the other discussions we’ve had this week. • • • Party Almost Over The party is almost over for evangelicals; a party that’s […]

Let me begin today by saying that, though I have some familiarity with the workings of my particular denomination, I am certainly no expert when it comes to the mainline Protestant church in the U.S. I grew up in the United Methodist tradition and have been a member of an ELCA Lutheran church for many […]

On Saturday we referenced a recent study released by PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute), called “Exodus: Why Americans are Leaving Religion—and Why They’re Unlikely to Come Back.” The study looked at a clear trend that must surely get our attention if we are concerned with the state of the church in the U.S. Let’s talk about it […]

“Its a typical situation in these typical times — Too many choices…” • Dave Matthews “In a world of choice, obligatory religions are not faring well.” • Diana Butler Bass Christianity After Religion * * * Diana Butler Bass once asked an executive of a coffee company how many choices were possible in one of his stores. […]

“Its a typical situation in these typical times — Too many choices…” – Dave Matthews “In a world of choice, obligatory religions are not faring well.” – Diana Butler Bass Christianity After Religion * * * Diana Butler Bass once asked an executive of a coffee company how many choices were possible in one of […]

Yesterday, we began a few days of discussing the recent stories on NPR’s Morning Edition in the series, “Losing Our Religion.” Our first conversation was about the overall trend of a growing disconnect between younger people and religion in the U.S. More and more of them are identifying themselves as “Nones” — when asked to state […]

NPR’s Morning Edition did a series last week called “Losing Our Religion.” I encourage you to click the link and listen to the six pieces. The first is an overview of the phenomenon portrayed in the chart above: the growth of the “nones” — the religiously unaffiliated. This trend has been observed especially among younger people. Two […]

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